Void(81)

With shaky fingers, I reached up and unclasped my necklace. I was worried as hell that the pull would appear between us. Immediately, my smoke flooded the room, escaping my nose and ears, flooding out of me with a vengeance and stopping at Headmaster Torne’s feet. His knees buckled on impact, and I watched with rapt attention as it started to feed.

“How does it feel?” I asked him. “Does it feel...good?” I winced at the question, hoping like hell that he said no.

He opened his mouth to answer, but then started coughing up water again. As soon as I saw the flicker of pain cross his features, I yanked back my power into me and slammed my internal walls shut.

He coughed and tried to right himself as I put my amulet back on. The moment the smoke dissipated, he let out a hiss of air and slowly stumbled over to his cart of potions. He mixed something quickly and then downed the creamy, white liquid in one go.

“Did you feel a pull?” I asked again. I hadn’t felt anything but hunger, and he didn’t taste nearly as good as Gritt always did, but I had to be sure. I didn’t want to be luring anyone. The connection with my paragons was just...different. It wasn’t malicious or for the sole purpose of feeding. I just knew it. I wish those assholes knew that too.

Wait. When did I start thinking of them as my paragons? I needed to get my thoughts under control.

“It was painful. I could feel you draining me,” he said before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You must not be luring in every powerful super. It must be something different.” He looked over at me, studying me like I was a new book. “I don’t believe you’re doing anything with virulent intent,” he admitted, shocking me.

“It’s definitely not something I would’ve chosen for myself,” I replied, though I knew it was a lie. I liked them despite the cruelty and the animosity. I liked Gritt’s fearless devotion to his brother. I appreciated Quade’s intelligence and charisma. I was drawn to Render’s challenging stare and found myself feeling comfortable with Hyde. I wished things had been different and that all of my progress with them had been genuine. I was such a fucking fool.

“Tell me how you felt when you let your Void out in the dining room,” he offered before sitting down at his desk. He was staring at me now, and I wasn’t sure what to make of his expression. It didn’t necessarily feel overwhelming or vicious. It was like he genuinely wanted to know. “I felt...protective? Like my Void wanted to eliminate any threat to my paragons. I was hungry, of course, but it was manageable.” For the most part, I wanted to add, feeling shame at how my power had threatened to take over. Remembering that the paragons had probably planned for me to lose control so that I’d get kicked out of the school sent my stomach into a tailspin of acidic bile and burning heartache. The betrayal was too sharp to focus on yet.

“Interesting, very interesting,” he said, tapping a finger against his lips. “And does Gritt have a mate mark?” His eyes flashed back up to me.

I blinked at him in surprise. “A mate mark? I don’t know. To be honest, I didn’t even remember that shifters got that. I haven’t seen Gritt since we...uh…” My cheeks flamed with a bright, devastating blush. “Since we became bonded?” It sounded like a question.

“Ah, yes. I can imagine Mr. Boltright doesn’t know how to handle this predicament. His shifters are territorial and loyal to a fault, but they might not accept this union. Shifters can be skittish at the oddest things,” Headmaster Torne chuckled, and I gaped, wondering if I had slipped somehow into an entirely different dimension.

“He’s afraid of my undead pet mouse,” I added with a cautious chuckle, not sure where the lines were.

“Undead mouse?”

“Hyde,” I supplied.

“Ah,” he said, as if no further explanation was needed. “Speaking of, please tell him next time he wants to borrow my guitar not to leave bones in my office afterward.”

My eyes widened at the small smile that played over his lips. I would have laughed that Hyde was busted, but I was too busy waiting for the scales to tip, for the bomb to drop in my lap and remind me that I was a dirty Void, a blemish on society, not worth the gum under Headmaster Torne’s shoe. But for some reason...something seemed to have changed.

“I’m sorry, are you going to send me to Council Prison now?” I asked, confused as to what we were doing. “If you are, can I just make a phone call first?” I asked before kicking myself for giving him the idea in the first place. I should have started with expulsion.

His steady eyes watched me. “No. I think your abilities are interesting. I’d like to take a more active role in your studies, Miss Cainson. It seems even I could use a little more educating.”

My dry mouth dropped open in shock. This couldn’t be real, could it? “Y-you do?” I stuttered before leaning forward. If it wouldn’t have been too obvious, I would have pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t sleeping.

“I think we could learn a lot from this. You’re obviously showing signs of bonding, similar to shifters, but your hunger mimics that of a vampire. You have control over the Void now and seem to direct it like an elemental would, and yet there is something deadly about it, too. This doesn’t mean I won’t be holding you to any lesser of a standard, Miss Cainson. But I won’t deny that I am curious about these new developments. I think it’s in everyone’s best interest if we give you a fair shot and try to figure this out. Especially if it makes you a more formidable threat.”